WHAT I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THE MOVIE:
1) It's a Western.
2) It stars John Wayne.
3) It's about a cowboy who goes searching for his kidnapped niece.
LET ME EXPLAIN...
Most Westerns on the AFI List have been terrific. I had never seen a John Wayne movie before but was of course aware of his legend. AND, "The Searchers" is very high up on the list. All these together = I was excited to finally watch this film.
Surprisingly, this ended up being a bit of a letdown. With the exception of the amazing scenery, most of the cinematography, and most of the story being somewhat interesting, "The Searchers" ended up being a shallow movie. There was no character development at all, and it was filled with racial stereotypes. The story also seemed to jump at times without giving any explanation as to what just happened, why something happened, or why a character just did something out of the ordinary. All together, this was mediocre.
What makes this a "Top 100" Movie?
Well, I can understand movie icon John Wayne would need to be represented on the List, so this is probably the best known or most acclaimed film he was in? It's also very beautifully shot with amazing scenic views throughout. I just don't get why this is so high on the AFI List. I thought Unforgiven, Shane, and The Wild Bunch were all much better Westerns. "The Searchers" did not receive any Academy Award nominations when it came out. I'm only surprised that it didn't at least get nominated for Best Cinematography.
Complaints:
1) The film editing. This did not seem to be put together very well.
2) Some strange characters: Mose and Charlie in particular.
3) One of the oddest fight scenes I've ever seen (was it supposed to be funny, or......?).
4) An apparent camera adjustment in the middle of one particular shot (was the camera guy off when he began recording the scene or something?? This was really odd).
LET ME SUM UP...
In one word, this movie is peculiar. Some odd editing, characters, and scenes made this a bit disappointing, although I was engaged in the story (for the most part) and enjoyed finally watching a John Wayne film.
MY RATING: 5/10
TOTAL # OF FILMS WATCHED: 97
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